This application relates generally to power systems. More specifically, this application relates to power allocation in devices, such as electronic communication devices.
There are increasingly many types of mobile communications devices available to consumers, including mobile telephones, smart phones, pagers, wireless Internet appliances, and others. While power supply is a concern with almost all electronic devices, it is of particular relevance to mobile communications devices that necessarily include a power supply within a relatively small housing. Such power supplies currently take the form of a rechargeable battery, which is drawn on by any number of subsystems within the device depending on how the device is used. For instance, a typical mobile communications device may include input/output circuits, wireless communication circuits, camera circuits, global-positioning-system circuits, accelerometer circuits, among others, as well as a variety of processing circuits to support voice-communication, data-transfer, and other functionality. The various subsystems of the device may support a number of different functions, with the power requirements of the specific subsystems involved with each function perhaps varying according to the particular requirements of the functions.
Current power-management systems for mobile communications devices typically provide visual indicators of an overall remaining battery charge in the device. In some cases, the devices may also be equipped to issue a sound when battery charge is below a certain level. Such indicators are useful for users of the devices, but are very limited in the way they manage power. Solely on the basis of a single global indicator, the user is left to determine which functions might still be useable before the battery is recharged. Those determinations frequently involve a high level of guesswork by users, who must attempt to estimate when the battery will ultimately be depleted of charge. Often, a user will attempt to use some function of the device only to discover while using the function that there was insufficient power to complete the function, resulting in unexpectedly dropped calls, unexpected interruptions in data transmission, or other premature terminations of functionality.
There is accordingly a need in the art for improved methods and systems of managing power allocations in such devices.